A fully electrical tire curing process has been introduced by HF Group, following a collaboration and successful test phase with an international tire manufacturer.

Following this test phase, HF says that it is now “positioned to offer electric heating solutions for tire curing”. The technology will be available in new curing presses as well as in retrofit packages for existing equipment.

“We are thrilled to meet the evolving needs of our customers with this sustainable and innovative solution,” said Warren Rudman, executive vice president at HF Group. “Our electric curing technology not only delivers high-quality results but also supports the industry’s shift toward more eco-friendly production practices.”

HF has also hired a new sales director for India, Anil Nair, to help with the promotion of the latest curing innovations in the Indian market.

Continue reading HF introduces electric tire curing technology at Tire Technology International.

Nokian Tyres has officially opened the world’s first full-scale tire factory with zero CO2 emissions in Oradea, Romania.

The new factory operates without the need for any fossil energy. It marks the completion of a two-year-long project and sets the ground for commercial production in early 2025.

“All electricity used at the Romania Oradea factory is CO2 emission-free,” said Adrian Kaczmarczyk, SVP of operation excellence at Nokian Tyres. “Part of the electricity used in the factory is generated by on-site solar power units. Steam used to cure the tires is generated by innovative electric boilers that use fully CO2 emission-free electricity instead of the usual fossil fuels such as coal or gas.”

The factory manufactured its first tire in July 2024 and is ramping up its annual capacity to six million tires, with expansion plans in the future.

Continue reading Nokian Tyres opens first tire factory in Romania with zero carbon dioxide emissions at Tire Technology International.

At its industrial site in Troyes, the tire maker has inaugurated its Cosmos machine – a new system for the production of agricultural tires, previously unseen across the Michelin group.

The factory has been host to the Cosmos project – an initiative to install a new agricultural tire production machine that is more efficient and more ergonomic. The Cosmos system is currently unique in the Michelin group, as it uses a new technology suited to the specific nature of agricultural tire production (size, weight, material technology, and so on).

Multi-disciplinary teams have worked with the site’s production operators to develop a solution tailored to their everyday use.

Continue reading Michelin inaugurates Cosmos machine for agricultural tire production at Tire Technology International.

Four years after the launch of the HF Curemaster TBR curing press, the R&D team at HF TireTech Group has successfully transferred the concept to a PCR curing press – and will launch this breakthrough at next year’s Tire Technology Expo 2024, taking place March 19-21 at the Hannover Messe in Germany.

The TBR press quickly became popular in the industry and well regarded for its overall performance, and is in operation with a number of well-known tire manufacturers worldwide. This popularity was also based on the significant space savings made possible, reduced energy consumption, lower transportation costs, shorter setup time and improved performance in terms of clamping force.

Continue reading HF TireTech Group to launch PCR curing press at Tire Technology Expo 2024 at Tire Technology International.

Tire building machines are an essential part of tire production, but with more complex designs, varying product sizes and different compounds, they must be flexible enough to cope with changing manufacturing priorities. TTI finds out what’s involved 

Advancing technology from VMI Group
Jan Grashuis, vice president of global product management at VMI Group, believes that EV tires have not yet developed beyond the capabilities of current tire building equipment. Instead, manufacturing trends prompt the development of machine technology. “If you look back a few years, the focus was on handling and wet grip.

Continue reading FEATURE | Tire building machines at Tire Technology International.

HF TireTech Group’s XPLORE app provides an overview of the health status of tire curing presses and recommends improvement measures for operations and maintenance staff on the shop floor. Bernd Pape, head of the company’s Digital Solutions unit, tells Tire Technology Expo how tire manufacturers can benefit from the web-based app.

To find out more about HF TireTech Group’s products, visit Booth 8000

Continue reading VIDEO | HF TireTech Group showcases monitoring system for curing presses at Tire Technology Expo at Tire Technology International.

Metravib, a manufacturer of dynamic mechanical analyzers (DMA) is showcasing its products which have been designed for use by companies or researchers working with advanced polymers and rubbers.

The company’s wide range of DMA instruments enable the analysis of rubber compounds’ viscoelastic properties, Young’s modulus (E), shear modulus (G) and tan delta, and their dependence to frequency, strain, stress, temperature and humidity.

For both fellow exhibitors and visitors, Metravib’s booth is showing a continuous live demo of its crack growth fatigue testing module for rubber compounds. The module is an add-on of the DMA+ series and includes a new crack follow up by digital camera.

Continue reading Tire Technology Expo Day 2: Metravib exhibits real-time demo of crack growth testing at Tire Technology International.

Bosch Rexroth is showcasing the CytroForce hydraulic linear drive on its booth at Tire Technology Expo in Hannover, Germany. Designed to meet the ever-increasing needs of the tire industry, the system is claimed to set new standards in power density, energy efficiency and quiet operation.

The CytroForce can be implemented where central hydraulics are not used, for cutting tire tapes or for the mixing process within rubber production. Its actuators are designed to meet IP65 requirements. The CytroForce-M (the company’s first model to be launched) can cover forces of up to 1,200kN, distances of up to 1m and speeds of up to 0.8m/s.

Continue reading Tire Technology Expo Day 2: Bosch Rexroth exhibits latest high-performance drive solutions for tire production at Tire Technology International.

Color Service has a full-size demonstrator of its small chemicals weighing system on its booth at Tire Technology Expo in Hannover, Germany.

Designed to carry out the dosing of all the required materials for tire production, Color Service’s weighing system benefits from being modular, so the machine can expand to keep up with the requirements of growing manufacturing facilities.

The machine forms bags automatically from a tubular film of EVA every 35 seconds, adding an identification label to each, consisting of a barcode, label and description. These bags are then automatically inserted into the holder containers before being moved into the dosing area.

Continue reading Tire Technology Expo Day 2: Color Service shows extensive small chemicals weighing system for material conveying at Tire Technology International.

Andreas Morbitzer from Pepperl+Fuchs spoke to Tire Technology Expo on Day 1 of the show. He talked through some of the features of the company’s tire production monitoring system, which is able to identify RFID tires on conveyor belts, and about some of the benefits that RFID brings, especially regarding sustainability and end of life.

Watch the video to find out more, or if you’re in Hannover, head to Booth 3038

Continue reading VIDEO | Pepperl+Fuchs talks about its tire production monitoring system at Tire Technology Expo 2023 at Tire Technology International.